Nilesat’s ‘bad debts’ mount up

Egypt’s Nilesat is owed EGP 21 million by broadcasters who have not paid their bills. BBC Monitoring is reporting that the errant channels have been removed from Nilesat’s ‘hot spot’ satellite.

In a statement to the Cairo stock exchange Nilesat said the accumulated overdue debt had hit EGP21 million. “According to the contracts with the channels, the company has the right to cut the transmission of those of them that did not pay their dues, it added.”

Not stated, however, is whether some of the debt is owed by Egypt’s public service broadcaster, The Egyptian Radio & Television Union (ERTU), which has a long history of not paying its obligations to Nilesat on time.

A year ago Hassan Hamed, a former chairman of ERTU and now running the ‘Hollywood on the Nile’ production studio complex at the Media Production City, called on the government to pay the debts of the Radio and Television Union and all state bodies that cooperate with the city and Nilesat so they could survive and continue.